"We really enjoyed the tour on Monday—thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us. It truly enhanced the rest of our trip; we feel much more informed and connected to what we’re experiencing now. We also really enjoyed talking with you, hearing about your experiences, and witnessing your close relationships with the families and palenques. It gave everything a deeper meaning.I personally have a much deeper appreciation for mezcal and am excited to keep learning and exploring more. Thanks again!" Amanda Lee, professional musician, NYC, June, 2025
In order to be reasonably assured that we can accommodate your preferred date(s) for a Oaxaca mezcal tour, best to contact us well in advance of your visit to Oaxaca. Mezcal is a full time passion, but only a part - time vocation. However, if you simply are not in a position to reach out well before your trip to Oaxaca for a mezcal excursion, we will do our best to accommodate you for a day of mezcal education.
Aunque podemos hacer las excursiones en español, si tienes la preferencia por este idioma, podemos recomendar un colega mexicano con mucha experiencia sobre el mezcal.
Our Oaxaca mezcal distillery tours take individuals, couples and groups of any size who want to learn about mezcal and / or buy at prices not attainable outside of Oaxaca, or even in Oaxaca City. We specialize in one or two day comprehensive experiences out into the hinterland outside of the state capital. We journey into the villages to teach primarily about the production of the agave based spirit, mezcal. We visit small, family owned and operated distilleries (palenques as they’re known here in Oaxaca) which produce this fine spirit in clay vessels (ancestral distillation), and in traditional copper pot stills or alembics (artisanal distillation).
Follow the latest photos and videos of our Oaxaca mezcal tours on Instagram: @mezcaled
If learning about mezcal is a primarily reason for visiting Oaxaca, then please consider booking a date for a mezcal tour prior to arranging hotel / airline reservations, since we are often booked months in advance, and don't want to disappoint any prospective clients by having to turn them away.
These are personalized, custom-designed educational excursions designed for all: novices; industry professionals such as restaurant and bar owners and their staff; and simply those visitors to Oaxaca who are interested in a real cultural experience, off-the-beaten-track and un-touristy to the extreme. We take our clients to visit the makers of this exquisite and complex alcoholic drink (palenqueros) in their homes, in their quaint distilleries, and sometimes into their fields, all as a conduit for learning about agave, mezcal and/or pulque; and for buying.
We believe in mezcal industry fair trade, at least to the extent that we ensure that our clients purchase directly from a select number of distillers (if they are interested in purchasing), that is the owners of small, family owned and operated palenques who typically have limited if any access to the export market. Every centavo (penny) of your purchase goes directly into the pocket of the palenquero and his/her family, to assist with their living expenses, and with growing more agave and producing a quality agave spirit for us to enjoy and savor. No intermediaries!
However there is never, ever any pressure whatsoever to purchase mezcal. But if you enjoy fine agave spirits you will be given the opportunity to buy (after extensive sampling of course) directly from the producers, at a fraction of the cost you would pay back home, or at a mezcalería or other retail outlet in the city of Oaxaca or abroad. But to be sure, we have no vested interest in convincing anyone to buy mezcal, although it is noteworthy that by doing so your savings typically pay for your cost of the entire day with Oaxaca Mezcal Tours.
Some clients travel with only hand-luggage. No worries. If you do not purchase, we will always buy from the producers, or simply give them some cash as a thank you for allowing us to explain their production processes, and permitting our clients to sample their mezcales, photograph, etc..
NOTE: We have recently curated a touring route centering upon strictly women who make mezcal; not those who represent brands, but rather distilleries purely owned by women and operated by women who are integrally involved in virtually all steps in production of this iconic Mexican agave spirit.
Email us at mezcaleducationalexcursions at hotmail dot com
(in addition to explaining all of our offerings, we will also provide unsolicited comments about the quality of our Oaxaca mezcal tours)
Follow the latest photos and videos of our Oaxaca mezcal tours on Instagram: @mezcaled
If learning about mezcal is a primarily reason for visiting Oaxaca, then please consider booking a date for a mezcal tour prior to arranging hotel / airline reservations, since we are often booked months in advance, and don't want to disappoint any prospective clients by having to turn them away.
These are personalized, custom-designed educational excursions designed for all: novices; industry professionals such as restaurant and bar owners and their staff; and simply those visitors to Oaxaca who are interested in a real cultural experience, off-the-beaten-track and un-touristy to the extreme. We take our clients to visit the makers of this exquisite and complex alcoholic drink (palenqueros) in their homes, in their quaint distilleries, and sometimes into their fields, all as a conduit for learning about agave, mezcal and/or pulque; and for buying.
We believe in mezcal industry fair trade, at least to the extent that we ensure that our clients purchase directly from a select number of distillers (if they are interested in purchasing), that is the owners of small, family owned and operated palenques who typically have limited if any access to the export market. Every centavo (penny) of your purchase goes directly into the pocket of the palenquero and his/her family, to assist with their living expenses, and with growing more agave and producing a quality agave spirit for us to enjoy and savor. No intermediaries!
However there is never, ever any pressure whatsoever to purchase mezcal. But if you enjoy fine agave spirits you will be given the opportunity to buy (after extensive sampling of course) directly from the producers, at a fraction of the cost you would pay back home, or at a mezcalería or other retail outlet in the city of Oaxaca or abroad. But to be sure, we have no vested interest in convincing anyone to buy mezcal, although it is noteworthy that by doing so your savings typically pay for your cost of the entire day with Oaxaca Mezcal Tours.
Some clients travel with only hand-luggage. No worries. If you do not purchase, we will always buy from the producers, or simply give them some cash as a thank you for allowing us to explain their production processes, and permitting our clients to sample their mezcales, photograph, etc..
NOTE: We have recently curated a touring route centering upon strictly women who make mezcal; not those who represent brands, but rather distilleries purely owned by women and operated by women who are integrally involved in virtually all steps in production of this iconic Mexican agave spirit.
Email us at mezcaleducationalexcursions at hotmail dot com
(in addition to explaining all of our offerings, we will also provide unsolicited comments about the quality of our Oaxaca mezcal tours)
Because of the adverse impact of COVID on the economic fortunes of our craftspeople friends, we have asked some of Oaxaca's talented artisans to hand-craft works with agave/mezcal motifs, so we can offer them to you, with all revenue from sales going to the artisans. They are still suffering, even though COVID is no longer a factor impacting tourism in Oaxaca. The works include wool tapestries, cotton placemats and table runners, woodcarving, hammered metal, clay figures, wax candles, hand-forged and engraved knives, and more. Just visit our merchandizing page here, and we'll either hold your purchases until your visit to Oaxaca, or ship for you: www.mezcaleducationaltours.com
